Martellus Bennett just wants to bloom with the New York Giants

You think it was easy playing behind Cowboys Pro Bowler Jason Witten for four years?

“He’s one of the best to ever do it. I learned a lot from him,” tight end Martellus Bennett, now with the Giants, told the New York Daily News. “But it’s kind of like, ‘Every once in a while, plants can’t really grow when they’re out-shaded by the tall tree.’

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, saying “It’s part of being selfless right now,” has imposed a player ban on tweeting during training camp, but veteran observers aren’t optimistic that this edict will be any more successful than the last one.

As in, how’s that ban on player arrests working out?

Quote marks

• Dom Cosentino of Deadspin.com, on reports that elite athletes must replenish 4,000-6,000 calories a day during their peak training periods: “Large quantities of pizza? Ice cream? Beer? That settles it. My own quest for the 2016 Olympics begins tonight.”

• Dan Daly of the Washington Times, via Twitter, on older golfers using those long putters: “It’s hard to decide which chin to anchor it to.”

• RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com, on a Scottish beer featuring eight illegal, performance-enhancing ingredients and high alcohol content, called Never Mind the Anabolics: “Or as a Detroit Lion calls it, a real timesaver.”

• Times reader Bill Littlejohn, after a bird exploded in a ball of blood and feathers when it collided with a rider aboard the 45-story Kingda Ka Rollercoaster at a Six Flags in New Jersey: “They’re thinking of renaming the ride ‘The Big Unit.’ “

Grass Isn’t Greener Dept.

The Los Angeles City Council voted to ban medical marijuana sales at the city’s 790 dispensaries.

Well, that’ll cut down on players demanding a trade to the Lakers or Clippers.